Introducing Peace Education in Cameroon Schools:

A Blueprint for Sustainable Development

By

Willibroad Dze-Ngwa (PhD)

Introduction and Background

• * Contemporary Africa is characterized by endemic inter-state and intra-state conflict situations caused predominantly by various religious, linguistic and colonial diversities.

• * The results have been • The vicious cycle of permanent instability, • human rights violation, • inadequate foreign investments, • unemployment and • The persistent poverty situation in the entire

continent

Cont.• * This conflict situation has been compounded by• Inertia, corruption, favouritism, nepotism, negative ethnicities and

the increasing spirit of micro-nationalisms and ethnic loyalties within the African states.

• * The Republic of Cameroon is Africa in miniature and consequently, a complex juxtaposition of the various diversities.

• With over 250 ethnic groups and their independent traditions and customs;

• about 268 national languages; • three colonial experiences under the Germans, the British and the

French; • And with the already conflicting Anglo-Saxon and French legacies in

the country since 1961, • The increasing inter-ethnic and regional conflicts in the country

Cont.• To reduce conflicts, improve on internal cohesion and

stability; improve on the human rights situation, encourage investments, sustainable development and reduce the poverty situation in Cameroon, there is dire need to introduce peace and tolerance education in Cameroon schools and colleges.

• Cameroon in particular and Africa in general need peace and internal cohesion which are sine qua non for development.

• But then, what is peace education and to what extent is it taught in Cameroon? How can effective peace-building strategies be enhanced in Cameroon to attain sustainable development?

• For peace to reign, the forces of peace within and around us must oppose and overcome the forces of aggression.”

Cont.• Peace need to be incessantly cultivated through

education (formal and informal). What then is peace education? Peace education is the permanent struggle to minimize, transform and resolve conflicts, be it overt or covert, in order to guarantee effective co-existence, concord and harmony among diverse interests, peoples and their cultures through formal and informal peace-building efforts. Such education should be aimed at developing all the faculties of a human being in order to promote the basic principles of good human relations as world citizens.

2: Objectives, Scope, Significance and Methods

• The general objective of the study was:

• to investigate the necessity for the introduction of Peace Education in Cameroon schools and colleges in order

• to guaranty the respect of human freedoms,

• Ensure greater internal cohesion and

• Promote sustainable development in the country

• The specific objectives were: • To know the extent to which peace education

are taught in Cameroon schools and colleges• Know the curriculum contents, their

implementation, available human resources and legislative dispositions that facilitate the teaching of peace education.

• Investigate the extent of peace and internal cohesion in Cameroon?

• Determine how greater cohesion should enhanced sustainable development in the country?

Sample sites

• Five Divisional or Regional headquarters were selected and including Maroua; Kousseri; Bamenda; Yaoundé and Douala.

• The significance of the study is to influence policy makers in general and those within the education sector in Cameroon in particular, on the need to introduce peace education in Cameroon schools and colleges. This will significantly reduce the conflict situations within the country’s diversities, reduce human rights abuse, ensure internal cohesion, attract investment, ensure development and reduce the poverty situation in the country.

Instruments

• Interview Guides (IG) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs),

• Informants included teachers of Peace and Citizenship education, students, associations involved in peace activities, school administrators (Public and Private), Curriculum developers and Teacher Trainers, Policy makers, traditional authorities, and people who have been affected by conflict situations.

• Two research designs were used for this study, that is the Ex-post Facto and the survey research designs. This resulted to the inclusion of the Notion of Peace in the development of a curriculum on Citizenship education in Cameroon. Hence the justification for the Ex-Post Facto research design.

Cont.• Through the Survey research design data was collected

to accurately and objectively describe existing phenomena as they manifest during the time of investigation. During the time of this research the curriculum for Peace Education had been developed and is supposed to be implemented in many schools nationwide. Despite this, there was still serious human rights abuse and conflicts, hence, national unity and internal cohesion are still illusory. This situation was experienced during the time of this investigation, and therefore validates the need to introduce Peace Education. This gives a justification for the use of a survey research design.

• The respondents were randomly selected in order to eliminate bias and inequalities. Two sampling techniques were used in this study. These were the stratified random sampling and the purposive sampling.

3: Evaluating Peace Education in Cameroon Schools and Colleges • After field work and experience, the

following results were found, depending on each of the research questions. The first research question was:

3.1. What is the extent to which peace education is taught in Cameroon?

3.1 a) Reality

• By ministerial decision N° 30 / 05 / MINESEC / IGE / IGP / SH that defines the citizenship education curriculum in Cameroon secondary schools (both general and technical),

• By Circular No. 53/D/64/MINEDUC/IGP/ESG/IPN-HG of 15 November 1990 changing “the subject referred to as Civics to Citizenship.”

• By the curriculum content developed by the Pedagogical Support Unit of the Ministry of Secondary Education, Lesson 2 of Part I in the Form 5 programme is entitled

‘‘THE NOTION OF PEACE’’

• The objectives of this lesson are stated as follows:• At the end of the lesson, the student should be

capable of:• Defining the notions: peace, war, peace treaty,

aggression, civil war, armistice, ultimatum, diktat, dictatorship, tyranny, imperialism, terrorism;

• Knowing the different bodies set up in Cameroon and the world at large to preserve peace such as the Forces of Law and Order, national defence, religious denominations and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), the UN and its specialised agencies, among others.

• Knowing all the good that peace does for community life and development

• Knowing the threats to peace in the country like poverty, misery, ignorance, absence of dialogue, sectarianism, disrespect of Human Rights and all forms of imperialism, and

• Knowing the benefits of peace in Cameroon and the world at large.

b) Dream

• There is a clear-cut dichotomy between the document and the effective application of peace education in the field because;

• The programme on peace education is supposed to begin only in Form 5 (general education) and 5th year (technical schools). Students from Forms 1-4 therefore, do not benefit from the programme (even if the programme was taught at all).

• More so, Cameroon has two educational sub-systems; the Francophone and Anglophone sub-systems. The two sub-systems do not lay the same emphasis on the subject. In the Anglophone sub-system, the “Notion of Peace” is just one chapter in the whole citizenship education programme. In most of the schools within this sub-system, the subject is taught only from Forms 1 – 3.

• This implies that the subject is not taught at all, even in the Form Five class which is supposed to do the subject.

• Again, many secondary school authorities only include the subject to please education authorities. This is so because Cameroonian schools and college gain much reputation based on their results in public examinations. Since citizenship as a whole is not tested in public examinations, school authorities consider including the subject in examination classes as sheer waste of time for the students and teachers.

• In the Francophone educational sub-system, peace and citizenship education are taken more serious than in the Anglophone sub-system. In this wise, peace education is handled as a branch in citizenship otherwise known as l’éducation a la citoyenneté. The subject is being taught from 6eme to premiere, (Forms One up to Lower Sixth).

• Despite the numerous teacher-training colleges in the country, peace education is not being considered as an important option. Even state universities in Cameroon are still reluctant to introduce programmes on peace studies. There are therefore, no trained teachers to carry on the teaching of peace education.

• However, we also found out that, there are many Private Higher Institutions of learning and NGOs are involved in peace education.

3:2. What is the curriculum content, its implementation, available human resources and legislative dispositions that facilitates the

teaching of peace education?

• The curriculum content of Peace and citizenship education, as stated above, contain some key elements that should help students master the different concepts and issues raised. But there are some shortcomings in the curriculum content.

• The lesson on ‘‘THE NOTION OF PEACE’’ is taught only in one form (Form 5) out of the seven Forms that make up a secondary and high school (called ‘‘Lycée’’ in French). Even in that form, it is just one lesson out of 14 lessons for the whole year. Given the endemic conflict situation in the entire continent of Africa, peace education becomes very important in community life and development. It would appear necessary to insist a lot more on peace education by introducing more lessons on it in all the classes, with some practical activities on peace and conflicts.

• From the data collected on the field, it is clear that peace in Cameroon is threatened by the increasing inter-ethnic and regional conflicts in the country, especially from the early 1990s. This conflict situation is further compounded by corruption, favouritism, negative ethnicity and nepotism. Yet, there is no lesson where students are taught that the different ethnic groups all stem from a few phylums, namely the bantou and the soudano-sahelian families.

• The programme for Form Four warrants the teaching of national symbols, the Constitutional changes in the country from 1960 to 1996, major innovations of the 18 January 1996 Constitution, the executive, legislative and judicial powers of the state, and relations between the various powers. However, the enormous powers of the executive over the legislative and judiciary; the manner in which the various constitutional changes took place in the country and the questionable way elections have been conducted in the country does not inspire effective tolerance, recognition and protection of all and sundry. This gives an impression that there are some people who are more Cameroonians than others. Hence, peace is threatened. This situation has trickled down to the students and has seriously shaken the foundation of effective peace in the country.

Cont.

• Social justice is highly lacking in Cameroon. There is great need therefore for students and teachers to be groomed on social justice.

• Again, in the development of the curriculum content of peace and citizenship education in general, some historical facts and figures are distorted for political and personal reasons.

3:3. Evaluating the degree of internal cohesion

• Cameroon is often described as a haven of peace when compared to some neighbouring countries where several wars and political coups have taken place, since independence in the 1960s. However, the peace is just relative.

• The Anglophone-Francophone dichotomy since reunification and independence and threats of secession from the SCNC. This situation is shaking the very foundation of the country’s unity.

• The Arab Choa/ Kotoko armed conflicts in the Logone –Chari Division in the Far Northern Region of the country,

• The Bamileke problem and • the Mbororo Problem.

• Even political parties have ethnic colorations.• The North-West South-West divide and the

come-no-go phenomenon, • The Bali-Bawock conflicts, • The ennemies dans la maison and renter chez

vous syndrome • The serious crisis of February 2008 which

affected • The increasing rate of unemployment and

poverty, • Ethnic and regional loyalties,

• Corruption, favouritism, nepotism and

• Constitutional changes and constant election manipulation and rigging.

• All these killed the spirit of love of nation and effective citizenship. Such a situation could further escalate into outright conflicts.

4: Conclusions

• It was realised that the programme on peace education is supposed to begin in Form 5 (general education) and 5th year (technical schools).

• Students from Forms 1-4 do not benefit from the programme.

• The Anglophone education sub-system, the Notion of Peace is just one chapter in the Form Five on citizenship education and citizenship education is only done from Forms 1 – 3 students. This implies that the subject is not taught at all, even in the Form Five class.

Cont.

• Meanwhile, in the Francophone education sub-system, the subject is taken more seriously.

• Despite the numerous teacher-training colleges in the country, peace education is not being considered as important options in the national education policy.

• There are no trained teachers on the teaching of peace education and citizenship education.

• Few private universities have introduced peace education

• State universities in Cameroon are still reluctant to introduce programmes on peace studies.

• Meanwhile, there are many ethnic, linguistic, religious, ideological and regional conflicts in the country.

• The conflict situation in Cameroon is further compounded by unemployment, poverty, ethnic and regional loyalties, corruption, favouritism, nepotism and constant election manipulation and rigging, hence potentially conflictual.

• Internal cohesion and sustainable development in Cameroon is threatened!!!

5: Recommendations

a) Government and Education Authorities

• The government should provide effective legislative dispositions for the teaching of peace education in all secondary schools and colleges in Cameroon

• Peace education (formal and informal) should be thought

• Peace-builders should be trained. • The government should also enhance the

teaching of peace education by reviewing the present curriculum content.

Cont.• Constitutional is recognition, acceptance, toleration and

protection of differences and minorities• Historical facts and figures should not be distorted for

selfish reasons. • Government should encourage inclusive, with specific

attention on the girl child and children living with disabilities.

• The government should harmonise the programmes of the Anglophone and Francophone sub-systems of education.

• Teacher-training institutes should establish special faculties or departments for the training of specialized teachers on peace education.

Cont.

• Students should be made to go out of the school premises and consider the issue of peace in the community in which they live. This may involve, among others things, visits to NGOs that works for the promotion of peace and visits to areas which have experienced conflicts.

• Teachers and researchers should be encouraged through research and publication allowances, to do keen research work and publish findings on peace education.

• Students should be made to take the subjects more seriously by making the subject have the same coefficient with the other regular subjects.

• The subject be taught from Forms One to Upper Sixth

Cont.• It should be evaluated in major public examinations like

the General Certificate of Education Examination (GCE) and the Baccalauriat for Francophone examination.

• For greater internal cohesion and harmony in Cameroon: • genuine dialogue,• parity of Anglo-Saxon and French legacies, • Unity in diversity, that is, the recognition and protection

of diversity, ensuring equality, mutual respect and peaceful co-existence and, in fact, promoting the traditions and customs of the diverse cleavages, with a will to remain one, strong and united.

• promotion of democracy based on Africa’s realities,

• Effective decentralization of power.

• There should be a balanced development policy for all the regions of the country in order to share the national cake.

• Contextualizing democracy on local reaties.

b) NGOs, the National and International Communities

• NGOs, the national and international community as a whole, should be interested in effective peace education (formal and informal).

• Peace education should be a continuous process which needs to be constantly watered by the goodwill of the general citizenry.

• National and international Non-Governmental organisations dealing in peace education should be encouraged to protect minorities, encourage tolerance and peaceful co-existence among the diverse cleavages in the country.

• Peace should be supported and built permanently through education in order to pre-empt conflicts

Cont.

• To avoid conflicts in the entire Central African sub-region, continuous peace education is highly recommended. This, it is believed, will reduce conflicts, ensure stability, improve on human rights, and encourage investment and sustainable development; reduce unemployment and the poverty situation in the country.